So Many Changes
by shadowcat238
Summary: Takes place during the Dino Thunder season, slight AU:Whatif. Sudden twists of events leads Kira into the most unexpected of places. Kirommy. Don't like, don't read. NO FLAMES
1. Chapter 1: It All Begins

**So many changes**

* * *

**Note: My first fic outside of Avatar: The Last Airbender unless you count the crossover I wrote with American Dragon Jake Long in it. I guess Childhood Obsessions still walk alongside of you until you start writing fanfiction about it, eh?  
**

**Show: Power Rangers Dino Thunder **

**Pairing: Kirommy**

**Timeline: During the entire season  
**

**Summary: A sudden turn of events with Kira's life leads her to the most unexpected places.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Relocation 

"You should be trying to get a scholarship, not play MUSIC!" her father spat that word out as if it was toxic bile.

"But—!" Kira tried to speak, but her father interrupted her.

"But nothing! I put up with this music dream long enough! Either you start studying for a career in the real world or you're out of this house!" he roared at her.

Kira had been living with her father for the longest time and he'd never rounded on her like this until now. Suddenly, the room was completely silent. Her father took a shuddering breath and turned away from her.

"Get out." He hissed at her. Kira only stared at her father.

"Get out!" he shouted it this time.

Fearing that he would lose his temper even more, Kira dashed up the stairs and began to get her stuff together.

She'd never had too much of a wardrobe; most of all of her allowances and earnings went to the care for her guitar or publishing of her composed pieces instead of new clothes. It didn't matter anyway; she'd learned how to sew years ago and mostly made her own clothes by purchasing fabrics or by remodeling her old ones.

After stuffing the clothes she had into one bag and shoes into another, she packed her guitar into its case and her songs, spare paper, writing utensils, and all of her schoolwork/homework into her backpack, she took the 4 bags and went downstairs. Her father was watching her as she made her way to the door, opened it, and stepped out; closing it behind her.

A heavy rain was pouring down and she'd forgotten an umbrella or at least something to shelter her from the storm. As she rounded a corner a distance from her house, she dropped her stuff on the bend. She was alone in this world. For the first time since her mother died, Kira began to cry.

A familiar silver van was driving on the opposite street when the driver noticed Kira. Making a right turn, Hayley faced Kira and her face was etched with concern.

"Kira?" she lowered her window. Kira startled and tried to manage a smile after recognizing her, but Hayley could see that it was more like a grimace.

"Are you alright? And why don't you have any rain gear for a storm like this?" Hayley asked the younger girl.

"My dad— we had a fight and he…" Kira's voice trailed off.

Hayley instantly realized what she meant.

"Get in." she told Kira gently; taking an umbrella and, stepping out to shield her from the rain a bit, opened the backdoor of her van.

Kira, still a bit numb after the shock of being thrown out of her house, took her bags and placed them inside the car and got in like Hayley told her to. The car began moving and inside, it was silent until they approached Hayley's Cyberspace.

As Kira was looking at her bags, Hayley said; "Leave them in here."

Kira wanted to object, but did as she was told as she followed Hayley inside her café. Kira insisted on helping out, but Hayley said it was fine; just a few chairs to unstack and to ready the computers, she'd said.

"I don't need pity." Kira murmured when Hayley placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

"Think of it as a small gift from a friend, then." Hayley replied as she slid her finger through some of Kira's wet hair. Kira nodded and Hayley was going out for a while.

"Just an errand and I'll help you get to school in a little while." She said.

When she was sure that she was out of Kira's hearing range, Hayley reached for her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" a familiar voice answered.

"Tommy, its Hayley. I need to ask for a favor." Hayley said immediately.

"Sure, I guess. What is it?" Tommy asked.

"Kira; she needs a place to live. Her father just kicked her out and—." Hayley said quickly.

"What about your place?" Tommy interrupted.

"My APARTMENT is barely enough living space for one person." Hayley replied dryly; thinking of what little of the earnings of her Café she actually had left after she's paid for everything; employees, the bills, the rent, and ingredients for the food and drinks.

"But wouldn't that be a little awkward? She's my student." Tommy said.

"And a fellow Ranger in need of some help. And I'm sure no one would make such a huge deal out of the fact that she's living with you." Hayley replied, then checked herself.

"Please, Tommy. You know what it's like to almost seem to have nothing in the world; that's how Kira feels right now. It's only for a little while." She nearly begged.

Tommy sighed over the phone.

"Again with the guilt trip. I'll ask her about it after class today." He said.

"Ok. And I promise I won't tell anyone about—!"

"HAYLEY!" Tommy snapped over the phone.

"Bye." She said quickly and hung up. Turning, she saw that Kira had come downstairs.

"I'll take you to school now."

* * *

"And so, the element of…" Tommy's voice seemed to become fainter with each second passing by. 

Kira was more preoccupied on the thought of where she was going to live than what were the factors that produced whatever element on the Periodic Table. She was still a minor, entitled to live with her guardian, but after her father had kicked her out, she doubted that he would ever reconsider.

She needed to focus on something else.

Shifting her eyes and surveying the room for a moment, she noted that Ana, another girl in this class, was staring at the front of the room, but her eyes were on Doctor O.

_ 'Not surprising.'_ Kira thought.

All of Reefside High knew that more than a few girls wanted to 'get to know' Tommy Oliver a bit more; he never told much about his past, his looks aren't so bad either, and there's the whole mystery on how a guy like him could be single.

"Can anyone tell me what the key element within petrified objects is?" Doctor Oliver looked around the class.

"Mia?" he suggested; pointing to her.

Across the room, Mia tensed in surprise.

"Um—it's…it's…"

The bell gave a loud ring and the students began filing out. Saved by the Bell. 

"Kira, a word?" Tommy asked as she was passing his desk.

"Sure, Doctor O." she said; ignoring the stares from the other students as they filed out.

When everyone was gone, Tommy stood up and leaned slightly against his desk.

"I talked to Hayley this morning and she was told me you were kicked out of your house." He said.

"Uh—." Kira was unable to respond to her teacher/fellow ranger's sudden saying that he knew what had happened to her.

"She asked me if I would you could stay at my house until things were straightened out." He told her.

"Oh, it's ok Doctor O; I can just find—." She began, but then it occurred to her that she had no money.

"Look; Hayley's going to start calling me a sexist amongst other things if you don't; I know her, so…" his voice trailed off and he began to rub at his temple.

"Ok, I guess. But wouldn't people start to…talk?" she asked; knowing that they would.

"How bad can it be besides that some people might ask you to steal the answers to the next science test?" Tommy asked her.

'If only you knew.' Kira shook her head.

"Ok. And thank you." She finally said and, gathering her stuff, exited the classroom as the next class came filing in.

Outside, a small pack of girls were waiting for her and nearly jumped as they began to ask her questions.

"So what did he want?" one of them asked.

"Nothing; just asking me on how I'm progressing on my music." Kira replied a bit too quickly and darted away from the little mob.

* * *

Please tell me if I've gotten anything wrong; I'm rewatching all of the episodes I can on youtube since I've forgotten a bit of the show over the years. 


	2. Chapter 2: Settle In

Sorry for not updating for so long. But I was really preoccupied rewatching the Dino Thunder episodes and also with school, and then a lot of other stuff. That, and I went braindead on this fic for some time. Sorry.

That, and I was working on an oneshot for my favorite pairings from Mystic Force and I've been trying to find 'Operation Overdrive' and also rewatching a few of my favorite episodes from various other seasons.

* * *

Chapter 2: Settle In 

"You can sleep here." Tommy said as he opened a door on the right of the hallway on the second floor of his house.

Kira nodded as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked in.

The room wasn't too big, or too grand. It was painted a dark navy color and had a twin sized bed, a study with a lamp across from it, a closet with sliding doors, a nightstand on the left side of the bed if you were laying on it, and a vanity with a mirror on the side Kira was currently standing on and facing the same direction as she was.

Tommy picked up her 2 bags and guitar case and, once in the room, asked her where he could put those.

Though Kira had said that she could carry her own stuff, Tommy also insisted that he would help her.

"It's what a gentleman does." He told her and took them in, despite her self-acclaimed protests.

He placed them besides the bed and lightly rubbed at his upper back. Her stuff wasn't too heavy, at least she wasn't that kind of girl who took a ton of things with her wherever she went, but the climb up the stairs had been a little straining.

"Thanks again, Doctor O." Kira said as she began to unpack a bit of her things.

"Hayley's the one who talked me into this and I was once in your shoes, so I know how you feel. You can get comfortable while I'll go downstairs and make us some dinner." He said courteously and exited the room.

_'Maybe it was because that he was living on his own for so long that made him act like this'_ Kira thought. After all, who else would be so courteous?

From what she already knew about Doctor O, he seemed to be really sweet; he's now the kind of guy who is considered extremely rare nowadays.

She lay back on the neat bed, rumpling the sheets slightly and sighed; how in the world could she have ended up here, of all places?

She stopped her thoughts and began to sort her stuff into the drawers and closet in the room.

As she was putting away her unfinished songs, she noticed another sheet of paper.

Kira reached into her backpack to get out an unfinished song. She'd been stuck on it for a while; no matter what she'd thought of, nothing seemed to fit the rest of the word plot or was just too 'out there' for her tastes.

If there was any opportunity to work on it, no time like the present.

The basic outline of the song was from a girl's point of view; she was afraid to take a step into the unknowns of love with a guy she'd known only as an acquaintance.

Kira began to jot down words that came to her mind and tried to form verses with them, but her mind was strangely blank today.

_'It's probably because of the shock.'_ She thought; looking around the room she would call hers for god knows how long.

A light knock came through the door and Kira sat up on the bed.

"Yeah?" she said; having almost completely forgotten that she'd closed the door after Doctor O had left.

"Dinner is ready; come down." Doctor Oliver's voice told her.

"Already?" Kira asked; how much time HAD passed?

"Doesn't it take about half an hour to prepare a meal?" he countered.

_ 'You mean I've been dabbling worthlessly in words for half an hour?'_ Kira thought anxiously, quickly shutting the page in her notebook and rushed to the door.

"Sorry; lost track of time." She said quickly when she first faced him and smiled sheepishly.

Tommy just nodded in understanding and turned to go downstairs; his student following.

Instead of seeing probably something like ramen noodles or some other convenience food, Kira saw that Doctor O actually cooked.

During the small meal of baked chicken breast seasoned with herbs and spices, mixed vegetables, garlic bread, and fresh fruit for dessert, Kira managed to get over the fact that Tommy was her teacher and began to ask a bit about his personal life. He replied the questions he chose to answer calmly and thoroughly and she answered a few of his questions as well.

"Why are you not dating anyone?" she blurted out after he was taking Kira's empty fruit plate up.

Tommy laughed; a lot of people had asked him that question, women, students, and his friends alike, but he just said that he had other things on his mind.

"I don't honestly know; I guess it's because I've never thought too much about my personal life. The mental lessons of being a Power Ranger do affect you in that kind of way." he said.

"What about Hayley?" Kira asked; they did meet in college.

Tommy thought for a moment, and then shrugged.

"I think she'd go better with my friend Billy; they have a few more things in common with each other than Hayley and I do." He told her and placed the dishes in his sink.

"Here; let me help." Kira offered.

When she was being raised, her father would always give her chores and the most common one was to wash the dishes each night after dinner.

"It's alright; you're my guest." Tommy replied and Kira stopped.

Out of all of the thought she'd had when she first came into his house, she'd never actually thought that it would all be just temporary. What if her father sued to get her back into his house? What if she was arrested with runaway charges? The what-ifs poured from her thoughts until anxiety took the better of her and she nearly collapsed onto the chair.

"Are you alright?" Tommy asked from across the kitchen island.

"Fine." Kira said quickly.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me." Kira ran up the stairs before she finished the entire sentence.

The what-ifs came back and she found herself more worried than ever. She didn't want to go back to her dad's house, but then again she did just run away and that could press charges against her AND doctor O. The last thing she wanted to do was get anyone else in trouble because of her.

_ 'No; that won't happen. I'm overestimating things. Just need to get my mind on something else.'_ Kira reassured as her eyes fell on her science book.

Even if she was boarding with her Science teacher, there is less of a chance that he'll give her some easy breaks, so why not?

She opened her book to the assignment page and skimmed the section; something about the process of fossilization.

"Y-You just need to study page 117 to 124." Doctor O's voice said.

Looking up from her book, Kira saw the door was open and Tommy was standing there. For some strange reason, he seemed a bit embarrassed and looked away.

"How did you—?" she yelped, surprised; she was sure she had locked that door!

Tommy avoided her gaze for a moment.

"Sorry. I used to use this room as a storage room for old stuff and I was really used to using a key to open this door…" his voice trailed off.

"Oh." Kira said.

"Uh—I'll leave you to your schoolwork." He said; clearing his throat.

He closed the door really quickly in Kira's opinion.

She flipped to the pages he told her to; it was all about the species of the Cretaceous period.

After half an hour of reading about Archosaurs, Kira went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. It was then she actually took a good look at herself in the mirror.

She must've changed before sitting down to read and forgot about it.

Come to think of it, she was lying on her stomach towards the headboard in only her camisole and matching underwear, she honestly didn't feel the necessity to wear yellow even on her underpants, when Tommy came in.

Whoops.

* * *

Yeah...I am so lame.

Next chapter: It's the first morning Kira and Tommy go to school...in the same car...to the campus where everyone can see them...that, and, Conner and Ethan get clued in on it.


	3. Chapter 3: Their Biggest Enemy Yet

I had writer's block for a time on how to finish the chapter. Enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Thunder

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Chapter 3: Their Biggest Enemy Yet

Something was shaking around her.

"Five more minutes, mom." Kira mumbled; trying to push the person shaking her away.

"Kira; it's eight in the morning, we're going to be late for class." Tommy's voice replied to that.

Oh, right; she had moved into his house.

"Eh?" she mumbled; opening her eyes a crack.

Talk about close proximity; she could literally see every angle of his frontal-faced visage.

Shooting up and attempting to scamper away, Kira only managed to trip on the sheets and land on the floor.

"Like I said; we'll be late if we don't hurry." Tommy said evenly.

Kira stared at him; why was he so calm? Most guys she knew would just be gawking at a girl in her situation.

"Uh—right." She said; getting up quickly and pulling on a pair of old jeans and a slightly torn cropped black jacket.

After a few minutes to brush her teeth, comb her hair, wash her face, and get her stuff together, she went downstairs to find Tommy waiting for her.

"Have you ever gone to school in a teacher's car?" he asked.

* * *

Since there were no speed limits, due to the lack of cars on the road, the jeep could speed all it wanted until it got to the public highways.

"Are you always accustomed to driving this fast?" Kira asked as she clutched the overhead bar a bit tighter.

"Oh, I'm sorry—are you uncomfortable about me driving at such a speed?" Tommy asked; glancing at her through his reading glasses.

"No, it's fine—really. I've just usually ride in slow cars. The public bus, trolleys, those kinds." She told him; still a bit nervous. What if they honestly ran into something?

She suddenly felt one of Tommy's hands on her shoulder.

"Don't worry so much. If you're unnerved by my fast driving, I can slow down." He told her kindly.

Kira felt her head bob up and down so fast, she could've sworn that it would break her neck. The jeep began to decelerate and Kira felt her body loosening out of relief. The silence between them, though, was becoming a bit uncomfortable.

"How much longer until we're at Reefside High?" Kira asked; glancing at her watch.

It read 8:05 AM; school would begin in 15 minutes.

"We have plenty of time. Though we would get there faster if…" his voice trailed off when he saw Kira's hands unconsciously grip at her seat.

"It's alright; I'm sure that you're a careful driver and know the roads." Kira said through her gritted teeth.

Tommy smiled at his student; even if she was hesitant and scared, she would think of things that might benefit other people before she thought if it would also benefit herself. At a much slower, yet steady, pace, Tommy began to increase the car's velocity; he really didn't want to scare Kira, which he would have if he just started to burn rubber.

It wasn't so bad. Most of the guys she knew would have just hit the gas immediately and not notice if a person in the car next to him was scared or ill at ease.

In 7 minutes, the two extra minutes were the result of Tommy slowing down the car when he saw that she was distressed, they had reached Reefside. Kira was about the open the jeep door when it continued to drive. She had to remember that she was in a teacher's car; therefore Doctor O would park it in his designated spot in the teacher's parking lot.

As the car stopped, Kira looked up to see Ethan and Conner coming towards them.

"Hey, Doctor O—what are you doing with Kira?" Conner asked when she saw her in the passenger's seat besides him.

"Uh…" Kira said; not really wanting to explain to them what happened.

"Due to a turn of events, Kira is staying with me." Tommy told his two pupils; trying to kept it as vague as possible.

Conner and Ethan stared at the two for a moment, then at each other.

"O-Kay. You guys can tell about it when you're comfortable." Ethan said; backing up as Tommy opened his car door.

Kira mimicked his actions and tried to get in class without tripping or thinking too deeply about what was happening.

First period went along smoothly, but Kira could see that by second period, some of the girls were giving her weird glances. Third period, she heard some gossip. During lunch, while she excused herself to go to the bathroom, they attacked.

When she opened the stall, she found at least half a dozen girls standing around the door; almost gaping at her.

"Hi." She said; trying to break out of their semi-circle and go to the sink.

To her surprise, none of them parted and they all were heavily resistant.

"Is it true?" One of them demanded.

"Is…what true?" Kira asked; staring at the redhead.

"A few sophomores claim that they saw you come to school…in Tommy Oliver's car!" another girl almost shrieked.

Kira knew it was impolite to refer to minor acquaintances, such as a teacher, by his or her first name unless they knew them for a long time; even Conner, Ethan and her still called Tommy 'Doctor O' because it didn't seem that they were as much 'friends' as they were 'mentor and pupils', but she didn't correct her.

"He gave me a ride to school." Kira replied nonchalantly; grabbing a paper towel and drying her hands.

Some of the girls were whispering already.

Kira, already irritated, rolled her eyes and exited the room without another word; girls like them could be SO annoying sometimes!

Fifth period and sixth period resulted in girls coming up to her and asking a bunch of questions along with guys giving her a lot of weird looks.

Kira was very much relieved when her last period class came; school would be over in less than an hour and she and Doctor O could at least try and debunk many of the rumors already circulating about them.

As the bell rang, there were still whispers and now that she and Tommy were in the same room, a lot of gazes darted from him to her frequently.

Tommy looked unfazed by what anyone was saying behind his back and continued his lesson and Kira wished that she could have done the same, but the fact that the eyes of practically every girl in the room were burning holes into her back and some of them were starting to pass her notes, thereby filling her table space with folded paper, she really found it hard to pay attention to the lesson about fossilization via preservation in amber.

* * *

At last! It was over!

Kira, after stopping by her locker as fast as she could on account of who her locker neighbors were, went out to the bus stops and was about to board her usual bus when she heard Ethan's voice.

"Kira! Aren't you supposed to be riding home with Doctor O?" Ethan asked as quietly as he could when he was in whispering range of her.

"Oh—right. Sorry; old habits die hard." Kira said hastily; upon realizing that Ethan was right.

"You'd better run; the last I saw him, he was getting into his car." Her fellow ranger said.

Kira thanked him and ran as fast as her combat-boots clad feet would take her around the campus to the faculty parking lot. Fortunately, he did not forget about her and leave.

"Sorry. I thought I was taking the bus again." She explained quickly as she reached for the seatbelt.

Suddenly, they both felt the hind of the car bounce slightly and looked back to see Conner and Ethan sitting in the back.

"So where are we going?" Ethan asked.

"Huh?" Kira replied.

Conner grinned; almost smirking. "Well, someone has to supervise you two." His ribald undertone didn't go missed by anyone in the jeep.

"I don't know about you two, but WE—Kira and I—are going back to our house." Tommy said.

His tone was calm, but something persuaded Conner and Ethan to get out.

* * *

"I can't believe that Conner would actually imply that we needed supervision." Kira remarked as she punched in a few numbers into her TI-80 calculator.

Her model of a calculator was old, but considering that her family didn't have enough to spare to buy her a new one, it was the only one she had.

"Apparently, boys think much more differently when I was their age; it's kind of sad now." Tommy told her.

"The nineties and eighties weren't exactly a so-called honored time period for the US; or the world, for the matter." Kira pointed out.

"That's true; but at least morals were emphasized. What really disgusts me most is that guys now think that they earn so-called merits for hooking up with girls." He satirized.

"I know; and if a guy has more than one girlfriend, then he's 'the man' and he can still sleep around. If a girl has a boyfriend and then she even kisses someone else, she's immediately branded as a whore." Kira scoffed; hating that society still discriminated women in that kind of sense.

"It's sad to see women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony devote their entire lives in trying to fight for equal rights for women, only to find that they are still being thought of as inferior." Tommy remarked; thinking of the character archetypes that were generally for women.

Out of all five of them, only two were regarded as somewhat portraying the woman's character in a good way: The Great Mother; a nurturing and kind spirit such as Mother Willow in the Disney movie of Pocahontas, and the platonic thinker; a woman of great intelligence who uses her words to get what she wants such as Cleopatra who, according to the discovery of coins minted with her face on them, was not as good-looking as she was mythed to be.

The three others were moronic: the temptress; a sensuous beauty who lures the 'hero' into his downfall by using her charms and body, in other words an ambitious whore as Anne Boleyn was stereotyped to be, the damsel in distress; a woman with a weak constitution and in a state of helplessness who is reliant for the hero to come and save her and then somehow eventually leads to the hero's downfall, and the Unfaithful Wife; which more or less spoke for itself, a woman married to an unattractive old man and feels desire for a younger and better-looking man such as in the case of Lady Guinevere and Sir Lancelot in the story of King Arthur and Camelot.

"I know; and there's the fact that most people of society turn the blind eye to women being held against their will. I mean, if a boy becomes a sex slave or a prostitute against his will, everyone is just concerned and appalled to why some guy did it. If a girl is a sex slave or a prostitute and she's being abused, people just ignore it and think that she's not someone to be concerned about! What is wrong with the world?" Kira ranted; the moment getting the better of her.

Tommy suddenly cleared his throat. "Are you sure you're comfortable talking with me about these issues?" He asked her; his dark eyes staring into her warm-honey ones.

Kira suddenly felt uncomfortable; what was she doing, talking to a man who was supposed to be her teacher about prostitution and how unfair women were being treated? And about male prostitutes, no less!

"Sorry; it's just that…life is kind of frustrating sometimes and one has to…vent it out." She tried to explain.

"I understand that; are you finished with your Calculus homework?" he asked her. Kira nodded; she just needed to write down the answer to her last problem.

"Then let's just talk." He suggested.

It wasn't as if they could start up again on the issue of sexism and slavery running rampart in the world as if the topic was as casual as how Paris Hilton was now trying to use her fame to curtail her jail time or the fact that in Mauritania, girls are being force-fed meals in the middle of the night because men there like them fat and how their health were failing as a result, but their parents don't care; they just want their girls to be 'beautiful' so they could marry.

"The least America could do is cut down on its energy using; just look at what Global Warming is doing to the economy." Tommy brought up.

Their conversation started a bit after dinner, at about seven-fifteen, and they were still talking about the abuse of fossil fuels and how polar bears were stooping to cannibalism just to live, and how disastrous tropical storms and hurricanes had become because of the ice melting, how animals were dying because of the increased temperature of the water, and the fact that all sources of freshwater were being drained almost dry.

Along the conversation, Kira found that she and Doctor Oliver were agreeing on almost every topic they were talking about and the ones they did not agree on, both were arguing in a civilized manner, as if both were in a debate class, instead of just saying something that was illogical, not to mention very stupid, and not having proof; like many guys in Reefside High did because of their overly high egos.

It was as if Tommy had…opened her eyes.

Before, even when she dated a guy or two, they were sweet…for the first few months or so. Then, they would start to 'lose interest', as they said, and in the end, she always broke it off when they lost the 'spark' that had first occurred in their relationship.

With Tommy, though it was just a casual talk, it was different.

"By the way, your answer to number three is wrong." He said after regarding her sheet of paper and her Calculus book.

"It is?" Kira asked.

"I think it's only because you misplaced a number in your Fundamental Theorem." He pointed out; rereading the problem.

"Oh—you're right." She said; taking her eraser and rubbing against the answer and her work.

"Thank you." She said; smiling at him.

"My pleasure, Kira." Tommy replied; lightly smiling at her.

* * *

"Miss Ford, I expected better from you." Mrs. Turner, the senior Calculus teacher, scolded.

"I will do better next time, Mrs. Turner; I…there's just been quite a shock for me and I'm still reeling from the impact." Kira tried to explain, but all of her words came out wrong and made her sound stupid.

Mrs. Turner's lips twisted into a sour look. "Ah, yes…your father kicked you out and you've been living with Doctor Tommy Oliver for the past two weeks, have you not?" she asked.

"Yes." Kira acknowledged.

In the past 8 school days, she had gotten used to students staring at her and also a few bolder girls coming up to her and asking what it was like to live with Doctor O.

She only shrugged; knowing that it was better to be silent than say anything. Mrs. Turner raised her face in indignation.

"Though I do not approve of such relationships, I suppose it cannot be helped. But you and Mister Oliver—." She began.

"Doctor Oliver." Kira corrected; it was becoming a habit for her to do that often.

"—Doctor Oliver are abnormally close; how do you two know each other?" she inquired.

"Through things and people." Kira replied; glancing at the clock overhead.

"If it's alright, Mrs. Turner, I need to go now or I'll be late for my next class." Kira pointed out.

"Fine. Do better on the next quiz, Kira; I'm expecting it." She called to her young student as she bolted out of the room.

* * *

Usually, he got along well with his students and the faculty, but ever since the news that he and one of his students were living together, that equilibrium he had achieved was being thrown into turmoil.

He had been approached by other girls; some of them asked him out, others asked him about his and Kira's 'relationship', and a few of them were saying that he could do better than 'that punk-rocker wannabe'. Guys would sometimes slap him on the back and congratulate him—to which he replied coolly that there was nothing going on and it was only their perverse minds thinking and said that one should never criticize a man who has authority over you—while others made uncouth remarks about him and Kira.

As she entered the room, he gave her a smile which she returned before taking her seat.

Then, it was as if everything was normal again and he began to talk about the theory of evolution and, as a miscellaneous fact, told the class that the blonde woman was 'created' to lure men away from the common brunette woman in the cavemen days.

Suddenly, one of the girls in the back—a brunette, of all ironic things—raised her hand.

"Does that mean Kira was 'created' to lure you away from us?" she asked coquettishly.

The class burst out laughing, everyone except for Kira, Conner, Ethan and Doctor O, and it took quite a few hard glares from Tommy to get them all to quiet down.

"As I was saying—." Tommy recommenced the lesson, but the bell rang before he could say anything further; getting students to quiet down about your 'relationship' was hard.

"Oh, god." Kira murmured after her classmates were gone.

She apparently made the right decision to get her backpack and all of her homework things before she came to seventh period; lest she wanted to suffer another mobbing and a pseudo-Spanish Inquisition.

"I'm sorry, Kira. It seems that I underestimated the reaction of the students after…such news got out." Tommy said.

It was sweet of him to say such a thing, but Kira also knew it wasn't his fault; it was nobody's—gossip just spread around and people just become interested in it and…there it goes.

"It isn't your fault; it's all just gossip started by random people who really need to get a life." Kira replied; noting that he was standing fairly close to her and she could lean forward and stand on her tiptoes in order to kiss his cheek.

Tommy smiled with pursed lips, then zipped his backpack shut.

"Let's go home." He offered her his hand, which she took, and they both walked out of class that way; together.

* * *

(sigh) PDA in such a sweet manner warms my soul, doesn't it for yours? -

* * *

"You'd better check this out." Ethan told Kira over the phone.

Kira accessed facebook and looked at the note that was written by one of her classmates in Doctor O's class.

It was one about her and Doctor O's so-called relationship complete with photos of them in his car together, holding hands in the hallway, and even getting into his car that afternoon and driving off together! To her surprise, the note itself wasn't filled with venom and contempt for her; it only said that they actually looked kinda cute together and that the girl was jealous; why couldn't she have learned how to seduce Tommy first?

There were at least ninety comments below the note; some of them holding ribald comments, some of them holding insulting comments for both of them, only a few concurred with the topic that the girl wrote about.

Kira was on the verge of commenting on the note herself but decided not to; it was embarrassing enough that she—even though it was technically Ethan—found this, but saying something on it might fuel more rumors.

And the things written on her wall was even worse.

"And you thought Mesogog was our biggest enemy?" Ethan's voice asked.

"I take it back, then." Kira replied and said a quick goodbye before reading every pain-staking note.

Words hurt, and they have such a weight.

Before Kira was even halfway through, she was clenching her fists to keep from breaking down.

"What's that?" Tommy asked from behind her.

Startled, and not wanting him to see what was written about them, Kira stood up quickly and blocked the computer screen.

"Nothing. Just checking my email." She answered.

"Kira, I am not an immature gossip monger like those other seniors; it's alright to show me." It was as if he already knew.

Feeling his words relaxing her nerves, Kira felt her body slacken and move out of the way.

Tommy must have been a speed reader; he drew back from the screen within a matter of minutes. He turned to her; his eyes almost unreadable while he took her hands in his and applied a bit of pressure on them.

"I'm sorry." He whispered when she met his eyes.

"It's alright; the people who spread this kind of thing are just looking at how it 'is' through their prudish and hormonal eyes." Kira scoffed in disgust.

It was a sad world these days: among other things, if a student and teacher of opposite genders even lived close by each other, rumors immediately spread; that the teacher, if he was male, was a sex offender or a whore, if she was female, that the student was—it, again, varied by the gender—either a slut or he was getting laid and that the teacher would give out grades for sexual favors.

"At least we both know the truth." Tommy said calmly; leaning forward and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"And Conner and Ethan, hopefully." Kira agreed; unconsciously leaning into him.

"I think we should both get to bed; it's late." Tommy suggested after a few moments—was it seconds, minutes, or even a hour?—and led her upstairs.

"Good night." He said gentlemanly and closed the door. Kira sat down on her bed; wondering what had just happened.

Had they really seemed so intimate or acted that way just a few moments ago? Did they honestly look as if they were in love? Or at least one of them was?

Maybe it was her; in the past week, she had always found that she was content to be with him whether it was that he was tutoring her or helping her with something else or they were just...sitting and talking to each other about things. The cool thing about casually having a debate or just a regular talk with Tommy was that she could literally talk to him about anything--and she meant ANYTHING--without him freaking out or acting immature in any way.

And there was definitely some kind of emotional attatchment that she, at least, felt with him.

_'It isn't love or lust.'_ She berated herself.

It was affection, it was like a father-daughter bond, it was…

It was a start.

* * *

Yes, it was.

Preview of the next chapter:

"Hey, Doctor O, could you help--?" Kira began after coming through the door and putting her stuff down.

He wasn't alone, apparently.

Sitting on the couch besides him was a woman with fair skin, mousy brown hair, and bright brown eyes. She wore a white polo shirt under a pink jacket, dark jeans, and golden colored peep-toe heels.

Apparently, they had been engaged in a conversation while eating small pieces of some kind of cheese with wine.

When she came in, both turned to her. The woman looked a bit surprised and she glanced at Doctor Oliver, who looked surprised at her arrival.

"Kira, I thought you said that your band would rehearse until five thirty." Tommy spoke; breaking the silence.

"One of the members called in sick, so we decided to cancel practice for today." Kira said; practically the only words that would come out of her shocked-still mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you would have a guest here." she continued; feeling that she should apologize.

"Tommy, you haven't introduced us yet." the woman on the couch with him suggested.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. Kira, this is Kim."

* * *

GASP! Am I evil, or what? 


End file.
